How COPD Changed My Career

I was a wine and spirits travel writer until my COPD got in the way. Here’s how my symptoms affected my career and what I’m up to now.

I’m sure your first question is, what exactly is a “Spirits Traveler?” It’s a term and image I created as a writer, and it’s still my handle on social media. Unfortunately, it’s a big part of my career I needed to eliminate because of illness.

It all started in 2008. I had spent many years covering tennis and was ready for a change. The publication I ran was no longer being supported, and most tennis magazines I freelanced for were going out of business.

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Becoming the ‘Spirits Traveler’

I moved to the Midwest for a cheaper cost of living. I had some good job opportunities in the journalism field. They all fizzled out with a drop in the economy.

New positions were on hold everywhere. I began to substitute teach and decided to build a freelance writing career.

It was just a fluke that I ran into an old college friend at the beginning of 2009 who was the vice president of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. His job was to advocate for liquor companies. After I secured an assignment for Modern Bride Magazine, he offered me a press trip to Cognac, France.

I had no experience going on press trips. This was my first. I felt like I was in a fantasy land, flying business class to France, wining, dining, and staying in chateaus. I spent my days learning about and drinking cognac.

Perks of the job

That’s when the “Spirits Traveler” was born. I thought about it and decided it would be fun to travel around the world, drink, and write about it. That would be my new focus. After all, who wouldn’t want that job?

It started with my blog, Wine And Spirits Travel, and then I began writing about wine and liquor while traveling worldwide. There was gin in England, scotch in Scotland, bourbon in the southern United States, and wine in France, Italy, Croatia, Australia, and more.

I was once given a limo as I went around Napa Valley, California, tasting 60 different wines in one day. Actually, that one was not quite a good time for my stomach at the end of the day.

I went to food and wine events nationwide and in Mexico to taste the latest. Companies began sending me wine and liquor to write about weekly between the trips.

I’d throw tasting parties and give away bottles after I did my initial review. It was a great way to meet new people, too. I always asked my friends to bring friends.

COPD and lupus changed it all

It was a dream that started to fizzle in 2015. It was that year when the first of my autoimmune diseases (lupus) was discovered, and I was also diagnosed with COPD. Breathing was very difficult as I tried various medications to get it under control. 

As my health deteriorated and the medications increased, I could drink less and less alcohol. I was getting heated easier, short of breath quicker, and, to put it bluntly, could not handle my liquor.

I had always just tasted with little sips, and I can’t say I was ever drunk on the job, but my tolerance continued to get worse. I had to accept that I could no longer keep up with the career and personality I had established.

It’s been years since I worked full-time, and now it’s travel and health I write about. I’m still shy about admitting the Spirits Traveler can’t imbibe. It sounds like an oxymoron, but I no longer accept wine and liquor samples.

Lessons learned

I’m sure you’re thinking it’s hard to feel sorry for someone who traveled around the world and was pampered while partying, and I don’t expect you to. That’s not what this story is really about.

I’m glad I experienced what I did and have no regrets giving up what I did.

It doesn’t matter what your career is. It can be hard to accept that you can’t do what you want to anymore. You may no longer breathe like you used to or now need assisted devices everywhere you go. I do.

That’s something everyone who has come to this community can understand.

I am still officially the Spirits Traveler online but not indulging in wine and spirits for a living. It was fun while it lasted. I must admit that it probably was never a good idea for my long-term health.

Now, it’s an inhaler that goes to my mouth more often than a very occasional glass of wine.